Our Digital Arts classes include basic coding concepts.
In the lower grades that means we use a variety of ways to help young programmers understand basics.
Question 1: Which is smarter, a computer or a baby? Hmmmm...... Please give a reason for your answer.
Our first question is one that fundamentally shapes our young programmers understanding of how to define coding. The result is often an action-packed discussion. "Well a baby can't do math!" or "But human beings make computers." The discussion is the perfect way to get the ball rolling.
Question 2: What is Code or how do you tell an alien to sit in a chair?
The answer is by communicating one step at a time. We have to give both the computer or alien a set of step by step instructions in order to get them to do what we want. After we define code as a set of instructions, we practice coding on paper, and fellow programmers.
Question 3: When can we code?
Using Scratch Jr. and Code.org students begin their coding quest right away. Code.org helps students learn with hands on tutorials that teach sequences, loops, conditionals, and debugging. We also move coding to the table with the board game Robot Turtles and students build programs with a visual and physical representation.